ABC Reality TV Zooms In for Summer on the Vineyard

They come for the sun, the sand, the drama and romance, to grapple with life and grab hold of it against the backdrop of beachfront idyll. Such are the lives of twenty-somethings in the fleeting days of a Vineyard summer.

At least, that’s what a new reality show may have you believe.

On Wednesday, the ABC Family network announced it had picked up The Vineyard, a working title for a “dramatic coming-of-age” reality soap chronicling the lives of a small group of 18 to 24-year olds on the Island. “Tight quarters, new friends and new rivals, all living, working and playing together, make this picturesque playground ripe for mischief and romance,” a description of the show reads.

The series is set to air in July as eight one-hour episodes, with filming to begin on the Island in May, creator and executive producer Dave Broome told the Gazette Wednesday.

Mr. Broome, who also serves as executive producer on the reality program The Biggest Loser, said the show will focus on a primary set of cast members who share a home and work at a well-known Island restaurant.

“We’re going to have a house that part of our cast members are going to live in; that will be home base for us in many ways. But that will be intercut with people from other parts of the Island,” he said. The location of the home has not yet been decided, though likely locations include Edgartown, Oak Bluffs or Vineyard Haven, said Yong Yam, vice president of 25/7 Productions. That company, headed by Mr. Broome, will produce The Vineyard. It has also produced such shows as Shedding for the Wedding, A Model Life and Flip Men.

“I can’t think of another example other than a place like the Vineyard that changes so dramatically,” Mr. Broome said of his decision to base the show on Martha’s Vineyard. “The population explodes and the look and feel of the Island becomes dramatically different between that three to four-month period of time. And because of that, there’s this organic ticking clock; there’s this limited period of time that our castmates have to go there, to find relationships, and then they’re leaving . . . I find that to be a very interesting dynamic that Martha’s Vineyard has to offer.”

Working title and logo were unveiled Wednesday.

In fact, Mr. Broome’s interest in the Island was piqued several years ago. He began work on the show with 25/7 Productions in 2009. The Vineyard was slated to air on the CW network that year, but never did.

“I think for us it was just a matter of finding the right network home for it,” he said this week.

Mr. Broome describes The Vineyard as a “docu-soap,” part documentary and part soap opera with heightened senses of emotion. But while the show will feature non-actors and lack a formal script, the lines of reality will still be blurred. Cast members who spend their days slinging beer and bluefish

on camera will have their schedules formatted to accommodate filming, he said. Scenes also will be concentrated on a few predetermined locations.

Principal shooting will begin in mid-May and run through the end of June or early July, when college students are returning to the Island, settling in, finding new jobs and making new friends, he said.

As for who will be cast to take on the role of part-time servers and TV stars, that process is already underway.

Several weeks ago Ms. Yam contacted radio station WMVY to field leads for potential cast members. Word of mouth spread among the Island community, giving her the opportunity to speak with a pool of potential candidates. She then took her search to Facebook. “Now I’m hooked up on Facebook and pretty much know every kid on the Vineyard,” she said.

Ms. Yam will hold an all-day closed casting call at the Mansion House on Friday, Feb. 22. The following two days, she will travel to Boston to meet with those who may summer on the Island but are currently living off-Island or away at school.

“We want residents of Martha’s Vineyard and the kids coming into the Vineyard. It’s really important to blend the two,” said Mr. Broome.

In addition to the 18 to 24 year olds, Ms. Yam said she is looking for what she calls ancillary characters: parents, teachers, friends, even fishermen.

And the work of casting and scouting will continue in the weeks to come.

“We will be coming back for other scouts and trips, literally cruising the Island,” said Mr. Broome. “What we have found in being there before . . . people just refer to other people, there’s nothing like being there and actually talking to people.”

Addressing concerns the show will mirror the controversial MTV hit Jersey Shore — vociferously voiced by Island residents on the show’s newly-created Facebook page — Mr. Broome said that won’t be the case. Instead, he says the show will be more akin to another MTV hit, The Hills, which employed high production values and sweeping panoramas to document the personal lives of Hollywood-area wealthy friends.

“This will be as far away from Jersey Shore as you can possibly get,” he said. “Think ABC Family and you’ll know the kind of show we’re gonna make. It’s Disney, for God’s sake.”

Those interested in being cast for the show may send an email with introductory information to 25/7 Productions vice-president Yong Yam at yong@257tv.com. Viable candidates may be asked to appear at the Martha’s Vineyard closed casting call, held at the Mansion House on Feb. 22.

Comments (103)

Ashley Tarr, MV 2013

You should follow my friends and I. I hang with natives and off islanders. My best friend on the island is Abagail Anderson. You can find me on fb at Ashley Lillian. We always joked that they should make a TV series about us. We're absolutely crazy and funny - worth a look.

Well said Thomas... Wonder what the "well-known island restaurant is"...hope it's Not the Black Dog...
Also- has the producer ever been to the island in May?! It's not like the kids are going to be cavorting around the beach, and sipping cocktails at a bar...You might as well film this in Worcester.

Agreed. This is disgusting. The last thing anyone on MV needs is more gossip or drama. Let us be. Go back to Laguna. We should not sink that low. All it's going to be is bullshit anyway. Those shows are all fake.

The "reality" is that it is difficult to work on MV. When I worked on the island during the summers, I had to find my own housing and was charged the standard summer rents ($1500 per person, up front for 3 months to share a room in a house 12 other people). Of course, you could only secure that house if you had proof of employment but you could only get a job if you had proof of your housing situation (catch 22 anyone?). Include those aspects and you'll have a better chance of creating a reality show...not another bubble to exploit kids and their immediate expectations of extravagance.

I totally agree with Thomas and John. MV will become as notorious as the Jersey Shore with
Snooki. I spent 58 wonderful years of my life in NJ and am disappointed in what people percieve it to be. Lets hope after 8 shows it will disappear.

The President coming, the shark tourney and other events are good for the local economy, would the tv show have any economic value to the the Vineyard? or will it just be putting money in Disneys pocket?

Reality will only be part of this show if it includes how they finance their lives. Perhaps a show based in the 70's or 80's is much more plausible than the generation where responsibilty is just a word available on google let alone a dictionary.

We don't want it on Nantucket ! They were looking here last summer - thank Heaven they moved out but I agree with you - the Vineyard shouldn't let them film there. Just another way to exploit the island and the kids who wrongly think they will become stars.

The only "goods" that I can imagine coming out of this endevour is if (1) The Island economy is somehow enhanced (2) Disney donates part of the profits to a well chosen charity (3) "Real" issues are address like "The Vineyard Shuffle", climate change and substance abuse (4) The series strikes a high note of discourse and behavior. Otherwise "The Vineyard" will be no better than the Monster Shark Tournament.

I can't agree. BP's argument for continued deep-water drilling in the Gulf is, in part, based on "enhancement of the economy" and "generous donations to charity". I've been hearing the economic enhancement argument my whole life regarding things that damage this Island - jets, mopeds, giant houses, more crappy tourist shops. It's the "I'll pay your medical expenses if you let me beat you up" argument.
Sigh. You know, although I went to high school there, I've lived off Island for thirty-five years - I cringe when I tell people where I'm from, the reaction is so weird. This show will only make that worse - it is as vulgar as it gets, and that show should be denied whatever permits they need.

This is ridiculous! Shouldn't they have to get permission or see how the actual inhabitants of the island feel about this? This is going to destroy our home! I'm really upset about it! Take it to Nantucket!

This is awful. The Hills, Jersey Shore, etc. all of those shows were done purely for the ratings that spoiled kids get by binge drinking, fighting constantly and sleeping around. The integrity of the island is not important to these people, money is. Shame.

Reality TV is anything but reality. Perfect lighting and make-up, scenes scripted, some re-shot to get the 'narrative' right, starving screenwriters scavenging a low-end job opportunity. And the values embodied? (Spare us, for example, the 'real' housewives of wherever.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_television#Criticism

I was born and raised here. Lived in Boston for 3 years, San Francisco for 18 years, and yes, the "Jersey Shore" for 7 years, before returning 3 years ago.
The irony here is that this idea is the anti-thesis to the essence of the Vineyard, and what so many fight for to maintain. This smells of a shallow and false portrayal of a community for the sake of entertainment, unless there is a genuine commitment to document issues such as Mr. Simon mentioned above, or other pertinent issues such as the impact on our Eco system that wreckless tourism has and the value we hold of supporting local businesses and local farms.

Im a student in my twenties, spending summers working on the Vineyard is great because its the "best kept secret" this would draw so much negative attention. "The Hills" and "Jersey Shore" are all set in glamorous party environments, not a private and secluded one like the Vineyard. I could imagine how the islanders feel...

My family were summer people for 100 years before we bailed, out of disgust at the commercialization of such a beautiful place. Hearing news like this just makes me sad, and sorry for the natives who have to endure it.

I am a local islander, born and raised and am auditioning for the show. It seems people are being closed minded about it. I understand the connection you make to jersey shore and the rest of the reality shows, but First of all that is not what the show will be like, but more importantly you also are missing the fact this is an opportunity for young, local, intelligent, people to get on national television. They can promote the island positively, as well as share local music, and local ideas to the rest of the world. The island can stay closed minded, and I understand the ideology being from Martha's Vineyard myself, but the outside world is not as bad as August makes it seem. I think giving it a try would not harm anyone, and actually this could glorify the island you know and love. peace and thoughts im out

I grew up going there in the summer as my fathers side of the family lives there. I remember it being an "island life" where everything was just calm and not crazy. Now having been working in the TV business for the last 12 years I know how this system works. Production crews will ruin your beaches, food joints, and honestly will urge those on camera to act like fools. It will not portray what the Vineyard is really about. It's your home! If you live there you have all rights to fight by not letting the county/city to allow film permits. It will be just like Jersey Shore. If they say it will not then it will flop. Because people love to watch train wrecks on TV. Expect roads to be closed, beaches closed, and swaths of onlookers. You don't see that on JS but it was there. Just not on camera. Think traffic in the summer is bad? Just wait. I felt so bad when I read this.

I agree completely. I have been coming to MV in the summers and winter for over forty years. I work in the film industry (I have for 20 years) and I know how this is going to play out. NWxNW is right. Road closures, beach closures, rude people, horrible traffic, no respect for the locals or the ecosystem, you name it, you'll see it when those crews arrive on the island. Plus, it's Disney. There will be no contributions to charities, or concerns about any conditions on the island. Plus, reality tv isn't reality, it's scripted to ensure conflict and drama, since that's what many people want to see. So if you think that there will be intelligent portrayals of characters or locals, think again. If they can engineer some fights between locals and off-island cast members, I'm sure they will. It's dumbed-down entertainment. Not what the island needs at all.